(Cavan-Monaghan) asked the Minister for the Environment if his Department have failed to sanction a sewerage scheme for Puckane, County Tipperary, with the resulting redundancy of 33 employees of North Tipperary County Council; and if he will reconsider the matter.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - County Tipperary Sewerage Scheme.
39.
I have approved the construction of Puckane sewerage scheme. Work on the scheme will be carried out by the council's direct labour force at an estimated cost of £175,000. This scheme, together with the direct labour sewerage scheme to serve the VEC school site at Thurles, for which loans totalling £65,500, have already been sanctioned by my Department, will ensure the continuation of the employment of the 33 council employees when the schemes on which they are at present employed have been completed later this year.
(Cavan-Monaghan): Is the Minister aware that the contract documents in this case were sent to his Department at the end of 1976 and that there was not a word about them from his Department until as recently as June this year, when the Department wrote to Tipperary County Council saying that this scheme would have to take its place in the queue and that they did not know when it would be reached? Is the Minister further aware that, were it not for the fact that Senator Molony raised the matter in the Seanad, that I put down this question and that Senator Molony raised the matter again in the Seanad, this would not have been done and the 33 people would have been sacked?
I do not agree. Neither do I agree that it was because of the fact that the Deputy put down a question or that Senator Molony put down a motion in the Seanad. It was already released to go ahead before the Senator put down his motion.
(Cavan-Monaghan): Will the Minister explain then how the secretary of his Department wrote to the county council on 12 June, and that is not long ago——
The question has been answered.
(Cavan-Monaghan):——saying that this scheme would have to take its place in the queue and that he did not know when if ever it would be sanctioned?
Let me say this about North Tipperary. The initial allocation they got for major sewerage schemes and smaller ones this year is as much as I could release because they had not applied for release of the loans until mid-June.
(Cavan-Monaghan): Then why did the Minister write saying——
Deputies, please.
(Cavan-Monaghan): The Minister for Finance is going to Europe and he does not give a damn about North Tipperary.
This is Question Time. We cannot have this carry on.
Senator Molony missed the bus, he was too late.
(Interruptions.)
Question No. 40 has gone for written reply.